Sarah hadn’t taken a real vacation in three years. Her health tech company was thriving on paper: orders pouring in, investors interested, headlines celebrating their innovative products. Everyone called her the “go-to person,” which sounded like a compliment until she realized what it actually meant.
Nothing moved forward without her.
She made every critical decision. Solved every urgent problem. Kept the team motivated through sheer force of will. Moreover, she was working 60-hour weeks while her once tight-knit team was starting to fray under the pressure.
On the surface, everything seemed perfect. However, beneath the success, Sarah knew there were serious problems. Burnout was setting in. Morale was slipping. Mistakes were becoming more frequent.
Her hands-on leadership style had been crucial in getting the business off the ground, but as the company grew, this approach became unsustainable.
If you’re the superhero keeping everything together, this is for you.
The Muscle Model: Why Effort Alone Doesn’t Scale
Sarah’s approach to growth is what I call the Muscle Model. It’s exactly what it sounds like: lots of effort. Leaders shoulder the load, work long hours, and take personal ownership for getting the results they desire.
Sound familiar? Most leaders recognize these phrases:
- “If I want it done right, I need to do it myself.”
- “I don’t have time to let others figure it out; it needs to be done now.”
- “It’s easier and quicker to do it myself.”
- “No one does it like I do.”
At first, the Muscle Model works beautifully. It’s often exactly the approach needed during a startup or turnaround situation. The problem? It isn’t scalable or sustainable.
The person shouldering the load runs out of hours in the day. They literally can’t do all that needs to be done. So what’s the natural response? “If one muscler worked, I’ll just add more people like me!”
Welcome to the Superhero Model.
The Superhero Trap: When Being Indispensable Becomes the Problem
The Superhero Model is simply an extension of the Muscle Model. The thought process goes: “If I can’t get it all done myself, I’ll find more people willing and able to jump in and make things happen.”
Just as people become dependent on superheroes in movies, companies become dependent on them in real life. We expect them to save the day because we don’t have the systems, processes, or talent to save ourselves. Instead, we shoot the “bat signal” into the night sky and wait for the dynamic duo to show up.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: I work with businesses generating over $2B in annual revenue that still have superheroes flying through the halls saving the day. The dynamics are the same regardless of company size; the city they patrol is simply bigger.
The flaw in this growth model is clear: it doesn’t scale beyond the literal reach of the superheroes.
The Three Warning Signs You’ve Outgrown the Superhero Model
Because organizations evolve along a predictable path, you can foreshadow the future. Consider these your “early warning system.” When you see them, it’s an inflection point, your cue to evolve your growth model.
Warning Sign #1: High Levels of Fatigue
The most obvious indicator is exhaustion. Muscling takes extensive time and effort. When the bullets are flying, adrenaline can hide the energy drain. You don’t have time to feel tired. You just go-go-go, and it becomes your “normal.”
Working 60-plus hours a week doesn’t feel excessive because it’s just what you do.
Unaddressed fatigue leads to exhaustion and, eventually, burnout. You not only get tired, but you also lose your passion for what you do. You stop caring and sometimes can’t get the drive back.
Sarah was stretched thin, constantly firefighting. Her team was beginning to feel the strain. The warning signs were everywhere, but she kept pushing through because she didn’t know another way.
Warning Sign #2: Loss of Effectiveness
The next indicator is a drop in effectiveness. Muscling stops working. How do you know? Two main signs:
One: You run out of hours in the day.
Two: You’re spread too thin and can’t give situations the focus, decision-making, or analysis they need.
It’s basic math. The number of issues waiting for you surpasses the time available to effectively address them. Additionally, it doesn’t matter how many hours you work; at some point, you can’t give situations the time needed to save the day.
You move from being an effective superhero to a stressed-out MacGyver, putting Band-Aids and bubblegum on gushing wounds. You’re working all the time, as fast as you can, but you aren’t succeeding.
Warning Sign #3: Increased Resentment
The final indicator is resentment. Time is finite. If you spend all your time muscling results at work, there literally won’t be time left for life: dinner with family, time with friends, a round of golf, a vacation, or even a chance to sit and think.
For most people, family, friends, love, health, and spirituality rank higher in importance than work. However, musclers experience the opposite from a behavioral perspective. All these things take a back seat to work.
Over time, resentment sets in. You see what you’re missing and sacrificing, and you get frustrated. Even if you aren’t resentful yet, your family may be resentful of you for missing so much time and so many events.
Ironically, many leaders erroneously attribute their growing resentment to the business, believing the demands are externally imposed. Truth be told, the choices being made aren’t the business’s fault. They’re being made because the leader doesn’t know alternative methods for growth.
What Happens to Your Superheroes
Sarah wasn’t the only one struggling. Her core team—the superheroes who had been with her since the beginning—were showing signs of strain too.
Superhero Warning Sign: They Run Out of Superpower
As your business progresses, so do the challenges and complexities. Your superheroes literally don’t know what to do anymore. The problems exceed their capability to solve them through sheer force of will.
This is particularly hard to notice because these are your best people. They’ve always figured it out before. But now, they’re struggling silently, ashamed to admit they’re in over their heads.
Superhero Warning Sign: They Ask “What’s In It For Me?”
Eventually, superheroes wake up and say, “Why am I working so hard for you?” This realization may lead them to quit, start a competing business, or go straight to your competition.
The driver is the same: “If I’m going to work this hard, I’m going to do it with more personal benefit.”
The Business Impact
Sarah’s company showed all the classic signs that the Superhero Model was failing:
Communication breakdowns were becoming more frequent. Important information wasn’t reaching the right people, leading to confusion and duplicated efforts.
Lack of standardization meant different departments performed the same tasks in different ways, resulting in unpredictability.
Over-reliance on key individuals meant those superheroes were overworked and on the verge of burnout.
Resource strains were evident as the company struggled to keep up with increasing demand without streamlined processes.
Despite growing revenue, the operational chaos was becoming more apparent. Mistakes that were once manageable were now having larger repercussions, affecting customer satisfaction and the company’s reputation.
The Realization That Changes Everything
Sarah finally faced a truth that most leaders resist: Her old way of leading—muscling through every challenge—was no longer working.
The company needed structure. She needed to let go of day-to-day control.
Delegating was difficult. She worried about things going wrong without her direct involvement. However, she knew it was necessary for the company’s growth and her own well-being.
Here’s what separated Sarah from leaders who burn out and lose their companies: She recognized the problem before it became a crisis.
The Day Your Superheroes Hang Up Their Capes
Most leaders view this moment as failure. The day they can’t personally handle everything. The day they need to build systems instead of relying on heroics.
That’s backwards.
The day you and your superheroes hang up your capes represents a victory, not a failure. It’s a sign that you’re aware enough to see the loss of effectiveness in this approach.
Instead of blindly working harder, you acknowledge you’ve outgrown your current growth model. The goal, after all, is growth. So you learn how to experience growing pains, stop the madness, and become ready for an evolved growth model.
Your Superhero Moment
Where are you right now?
Are you the leader constantly firefighting, making every decision, solving every problem? Are your best people exhausted from carrying the load? Is your team dependent on a few superheroes to keep things running?
Furthermore, do you recognize these warning signs:
- Fatigue that won’t go away
- Working harder but seeing diminishing returns
- Growing resentment about work-life imbalance
- Communication breakdowns and operational chaos
- Best people asking “what’s in it for me?”
If so, you’re at a critical inflection point. You can continue muscling and watch effectiveness decline, or you can evolve your growth model.
The question isn’t whether you’re a capable leader. The question is whether you’re ready to lead differently.
Sarah’s story doesn’t end with burnout, it ends with transformation. She learned to shift from being a superhero to being a facilitator, from muscling results to empowering her team to achieve them. Next week, I’ll share why the leadership style that built your business might now be holding it back, and what that means for your next phase of growth.
Want to dive deeper into why the Muscle Model fails and what comes next? The complete framework is in my book, Talent-Driven Growth.
